Would it be beneficial to split the 'Off Topic Forum' from OTDE, rather than making the latter a sub forum of the former?

OTDE is pretty out there, which is well & good.

However, it may be that it taints the general 'Off Topic Forum', which by and large is not really that highly political/emotional/ideological rant that OTDE often becomes.

By linking the two it seems to pull the 'Off Topic Forum' into OTDE's orbit, which is a pity.

just a thought.

Absolutely would be nice. Just to talk about other things in life but not those controversial. Maybe someone's road trip, maybe gas prices on the road, maybe hotels, maybe knitting. Anything that's a peaceful discussion subject. Music. Art. Hobbies. Kids.

Absolutely would be nice. Just to talk about other things in life but not those controversial. Maybe someone's road trip, maybe gas prices on the road, maybe hotels, maybe knitting. Anything that's a peaceful discussion subject. Music. Art. Hobbies. Kids.

That is called Off Topic and we have one.

OTDE that Art and Andy refer to is its own section that you do not have to enter as its opt-in only.

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Craig

It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they've been fooled - Mark Twain

I normally just read from "New Posts" and, as such, had not been subjected to OTDE. Subsequent to this thread I did look to see how it was set up and what it was. I didn't have to read any further than the description to know it wasn't for me. I quite honestly do not understand why it's part of Trawler Forum, but as I'm not visiting it, guess it really doesn't matter. The reason I didn't go even to see what was being discussed was that I don't want my view of anyone here altered by seeing their views on those issues. I'm sure some of the discussion is done in a decent manner and perhaps even constructive. But I'm equally sure there is some I'd find very offensive and distasteful. All the more reason I'm glad it's isolated.

Back to the original topic of this thread which I misunderstood before, I don't think splitting it off would make a difference and really don't want to see it elevated above a sub forum. I think the Off topic forum's lack of good activity is just that people tend to come here to discuss boating. Now I do think that we could all initiate some general interest topics there.

I normally just read from "New Posts" and, as such, had not been subjected to OTDE.

At the risk of telling you what you may already know, New Posts does not always show you all the new posts. There is apparently a size limit to the New Posts box. If you open TF and all the entries in the list are in bold, the chances are there are additional new posts in the various forum "buckets" that were not included in the New Posts window because the window had reached its limit of entries.

In situations like this, after I've read what I want to read from New Posts I'll open the General Discussion bucket to see what might be new, then maybe Anchors and Anchoring to read about Eric's latest attempts to anchor with a coffee can on a 2:1 scope (), and so forth.

If you confine yourself to just New Posts, there will be times when you miss some.

You can also try the link for "Todays Posts" under the quick links drop down - it has a complete listing of all recent posts including those that you have made yourself. Other lists of recent posts do not include content you added or have already viewed.

You can also try the link for "Todays Posts" under the quick links drop down - it has a complete listing of all recent posts including those that you have made yourself. Other lists of recent posts do not include content you added or have already viewed.

Thanks. So many different ways to get there. We find that we often start one way and then find another we like better.